Wondering what was compelling the State government to continue a diet contractor in Niloufer Hospital even after allegations of corruption were levelled against him, the Telangana High Court on Thursday sought to know why no action had been initiated against him so far.
A bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy, hearing a PIL petition on ‘misappropriation of funds by the diet contractor’, asked the government what prevented the government from fixing up responsibility in the matter. P. Bhagvantha Rao of Bhagynagar Ganesh Utsava Samithi, who filed the PIL plea, maintained that the contractor was being continued by the hospital superintendent even after the inquiry report was submitted.
The work of supplying food to patients of the hospital assigned to the contractor ended this March. Still, the same contractor was being allowed to supply diet to the patients.
The petitioner pleaded with the court to direct the government to terminate the diet contract and launch an investigation by the Crime Investigation Department into the ‘misappropriation of funds and irregularities’ by the contractor. He told the bench that for some reasons, the government awarded the work of supplying diet to in-patients in Gandhi hospital and Chest hospital, Erragadda, also.
Responding to the clarifications sought by the bench, government counsel said no money was paid to the contractor after charges of corruption against him surfaced. A report was presented to the government following the inquiry into the allegations. Action by the government was awaited, counsel informed the court, seeking two weeks to secure instructions on the matter.
The contractor’s counsel told the court that his client had been in the field of supplying diet to in-patients of the hospitals for the past 30 years.
A rival group, which failed to obtain the contract of supplying diet, was attempting to damage his work by waging legal battles.
The bench instructed the government to place before it the inquiry committee report by August 17.
The petition was posted for August 19.